“Well, I certainly don’t manipulate my team members,” Helen insisted. “I like to think that I motivate them to get the work done.”
“Tell me, how do you do that?” I asked.
“Well, I think it begins on their first day at work. Our orientation does a really good job of explaining to them our philosophy as a company, our mission in the marketplace, where we standout against our competitors. Then, everyone, no matter what their role, goes through a pretty intensive training program, to make sure they have the skills they need to be successful. In my opinion, it’s pretty motivational.”
“How so?” I probe.
“Once they come out of training, they have to pass some competency tests, to make sure they actually have the skills they need. If they do that, they immediately get a pay rate increase, from training pay to Pay Band I. Our training pay is just above minimum wage. Pay Band I is calculated based on their actual role, their job description. It’s beginner’s pay, but it’s a step up, so immediately, they are rewarded for their efforts.”
“So, if they successfully complete their training program, they receive a reward in the form of a pay increase?”
“Yes,” Helen replied, smiling and nodding.
“Sounds like manipulation to me,” I observed. -TF
It’s more a semanics issue. This is manipulation but in a positive sense. The more a company’s compensation system rewards positive behavior and behavior that benefits the company the more appropriate the compensation system is designed.
Too often there is a disconnect between desired performance and compensation. If this is considered manipulation, more companies should start manipulation of employees.
It is a positive step to begin the process of tieing compensation to performance at the very beginning of an employees tenure with the company. It immediately establishes that link and reinforces the culture, assuming the company is consistant throughout its’ compensation programs and the employees tenure.
Good point.
People are humans. These strange creatures are a mixture of body and soul; if not Christian, then substitute soul with rational intelligence. This means people react better to concrete abstractness or abstract concreteness. These sound like strange paradoxes, but think about the way we learn. By reading a book (a material thing) we receive knowledge (an immaterial thing).
Manipulation, although a word often used in the context of this scene, is probably not the right word in dealing with humans. It has a negative connotation. The negativeness may come from its Latin root meaning of “hand.” People should not and do not like “to be handled.” This is for animals and machines. People are led. Many make the mistake of managing people. Having a proper understanding of the human person is helpful in leading people.
JQ,
Thank you for your insights. I am using manipulation, on purpose to contrast many perspectives on motivation. Most managers believe they are motivating their team, when in fact, performance-reward and underperformance-reprimand doesn’t meet the standard.
Monday, I will finish up this discussion, drawing some clearer lines from baseline of the past few days. Thanks again for posting your thoughts. Keep in touch.